Printing-press



I. D. REIFSNYDEII AND H. G. SCHWERDTLE.

PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25.1915.

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J. D. REIFSNYDER AND H. G. SCHWERDTLE.

PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25. 1915.

1 ,3 1 '7, 391 Patented Sept. 30, 1919.

6 SHEETSSHEET 2.

J. D. REIFSNYDER AND H. G. SCHWERDTLE.

PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25. I9l5.

Patented Sept. 30, 1919.

6 SHEETSSHEET 3.

A mrmnmM-u c0. WASHINGTON, l). c.

J. D. REIFSNYDER AND H. G. SCHWERDTLE.

PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25. I915.

1,817,391.. Patented Sept. 30,1919.

6 SHEAETSSHEET 4.

J. D. REIFSNYDER AND H. G. SCHWERDTLE.

PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25. 1915.

9 w 1 r um @w@ W 0W9? t4 sw M Wm .M m m WJW. D1 ..M,/mflw w Q 8 1. 1M 9 3 7 m 1 J. D. REIFSNYDER AND H. G. SCHWERDTLE.

PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25. I915.

Patented Sept. 30, 1919.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

V Jamesfl UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES D. REIFSNYDER AND HENRY Gr. SCHWERDTLE, OF II-IILAIDELPI-IIA PENNSYL- VANIA, ASSIGNORS TO STOKES & SMITH COMPANY, OF SUMMERDALE, PENNSYL VANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

PRINTING-PRESS.

Application filed January 25, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES D. REIFSNYDER and HENRY Gr. SCHWERDTLE, both citizens of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Printing-Presses, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to printing presses, nd particularly to presses which operate at a high speed; while many of the features of the invention are applicable to printing presses of other types, we have described the invention, by way of example, as embodied in a high speed rotary printing press.

The general purpose of the invention is to increase the output of a printing press while insuring efliciency in operation. 7

A principal object of the invention is to provide a press which is particularly adapted for simultaneously printing a plurality of sheets, and especially relatively narrow sheets, such as unfolded envelop blanks. By feeding narrow blanks longitudinal-1y to the press a plurality of packs may be supported on the feed table and fed from the packs simultaneously, a a result of which the output of the press may be greatly increased; and one of the objects of the present invention is to provide means for enabling the blanks to be fed in the manner suggested and to provide the press with eflicient mechanism for holding the blank on the platen and for taking it from the platen as it is printed. One of the diflicu'lties met in accomplishing this arises from the narrowness of the forward end of the blank which is fed to the press because the small area, gives little opportunity for the application of the usual grippers and take-off devices.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a press having improved means for insuring an accurate alinement of the sheet which is fed into the press while the press is running at a high speed.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved mean for holding th blanket on the platen and for insuring that when the blanket is removed it can be readilv replaced in its former position.

A. further object of the invention is to provide a take-off device having special features Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 30, 1919.

Serial No. 4,179.

adapting it particularly for operating upon relatively narrow printed sheets fed lengthwise through the press.

Further objects of the invention will appear more clearly hereinafter. The invention consists in the general features and combination of features to be described more fully in the following specification, while the broad scope of our invention is set forth in the claims. In the drawing which illustrates one embodiment of our invention- Figure l is a side elevation of a rotary press embodying our invention, certain parts being broken away or shown in cross-sectlon.

Fig. 2 is a substantially longitudinal and vertical section of the press shown in Fig. 1, certain parts being omitted.

Fig. 3 is a plan, certain parts being shown in crosssection and broken away.

Fig. a is a rear view of the press, certain parts being shown as though viewed in section taken substantially on the line H of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view partly in plan and partly in section, particularly illustrating electromagnetic means for controlling the throw-out mechanism of the press.

Fig. 6 is a crosssection through the platen, certain parts being broken away.

Fig. 7 is a fnagmentary view, particularly illustrating details of the platen.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view partially in section further illustrating details of the platen and means for holding the blanket on the platen.

Fig. 9 is a perspective, showing the arrangement of the stops on the platen which assist in effecting the proper alinement of the sheets fed to the press; this view also illustrates the means for locking these stops in position.

Fig. 10 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation, certain parts being broken away and illustrating the platen to show the grippers in their released position, and also illustrating the manner in which the take-off device operates to remove a printed sheet from the platen.

Fig. 11 is a partial plan and partial section further illustrating the take-01f device.

Fig. 12 is a vertical section and partial elevation showing one end of the take-off device and particularly lllustratmg the means for maintammg the pneumatic connection to the take-off device.

provide an inking mechanism 19. This inking mechanism is. preferably carried on a frame 20 and mounted on the main frame by means of a vertical pivot 21, which enables the entire inking mechanism to be swung away from the cylinder, as indicated by the dotted lines 21 in Fig. 3. This arrange ment is very desirable because it leaves the form cylinder exposed and accessible to the printer. I

" At a suitable point on the main frame there is mounted a feed frame 22 which is preferably supported on a pivot 23 beyond which the feed frame is provided with a rigid segment 24 with which cooperates a worm'25 on the main frame, which may be rotat d to raise the feed frame into the position indicated by the dotted lines 22 in Fig. l. i

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, we shall now describe the feed, mechanism. This mechanism preferably includes'a feed table 26. which is mounted to slide horizontally iii the feed frame 22 and is preferably arranged to be reciprocated through the me dium of a link 27 which is pivotally at taclied' at 28.t'o the feed'table, the other end of the link being attached to a wheel 29 which is rocked back and forth through'the medium of a segment 30 which meshes with a pinion 31, the. pinlon 31 being rigid with the wheel 29. The"segmentBO is adapted to be rockedfcontinuously' when the press is in operation through the medium of an arm 32 rigid with it and rotatable on the pivot 23,said arm 32 being connected by a pitman or connecting rod 33. with a crank disk 34; which is rigid with the form cylinder 16. The side edges of the table 26 are held in suitable" guides The pile of blanks on the feed table is indicated by the dotted outline 36 in Fig. 2. The forward ends of the blanks extend beyond the for-- ward edge 37 of the feed table'and this part of the pile is supported bymeans of the flexible bands 38, which are attached to the forward edge of the table and which form loops at their forward ends passing around a picker roller 39. This picker roller is provided with a pinion 40; with which meshes a rack 5L1 on the table, so that as the table reciprocates it rotates the picker roller. The picker roller 39 is of tubular form so that its interiorforms a pneumatic duct 42, and the Wall of the picker is provided at separated points with suction openings 43. When the feed table comes forward the lowermost sheet is drawn against the suction mouth 43 by a partial vacuum in the duct 42, so

that the bottom blank of each pack adheres to the picker near its forward edge, and then as the picker rotates the forward edge of the blank is directed downwardly. In order to assist in separating the bottom blank from the rest of'the pilewe prefer to. provide a segregatinm finger 4:4, which is flat on itsupper side and presents an inclined forward and under face 45. This face -15 is struck by the forward edge ofthe sheet 46 which is being fed to the press and directs the sheet between two feed rollers 47 and 48, the latter of which is a presser roller for pressing the sheet against the feed roller 4e7.' The straps '38 aremain- V tained tautby springs 38. e

The platen 17 is provided with alining means 1-9, preferably in the form of a plu-Q rality of stops arranged at a distance apart along the platen. In feeding a rectangular sheet into the press under ordinary conditions the sheet is fed forward "onto the platen and substantially at the same speed i as the platen and its forward edge lies sub stantially against the stops 4-9. With such an arrangement an accurate alinement of ing means or'stops 9L9 does not usually occur the forward edgeof thesheet'with the alinbecause the gripper fingers 50 may come down upon the forward edge of the sheet and'clamp it in position before a true or complete alinement'has taken place. A0 cording to ourinventionwe provide means for driving the roller 47 at a much higher peripheral speed than that of the platen so that'the blank comes onto the face of the platenand slides along the periphery of the platen until its forward edge comes up against the almmg means 49. This may occur toward one of theside edges of the sheet.

In other words, one of the advance corners of thesheet may engage the alining means before the other- When this occurs the con tinued feeding movement advances the other portion of thesheet until the forward edge of the sheet is completely alined against the stops 4:9. This operation consists simply in this: The 'alining means may simply arrest a corner of thesheet, while the feedmg means, continuing to operate, brings the remaining part of the sheet up to its proper alinement. Asthe'result of the'continuing feed movement of theblank, after its for ward edgehas' come fully against the stop the feeding mechanism exerts a thrust force or crowding effect in theshect which tends to form'a downward bend at the point 46 as indicated 111 Fig. 2. Thus bend or loop 1s simply a. slight bend of the sheet down wardly toward theplaten. In-order to drive the feed roller 47 at a higher speed than the platen we prefer to provide a pinion51 which meshes with the large gear wheel 52 on the platen, and the pinion51 meshes with a smaller pinion 53 on the end of the feed roller 47. Inconnection with the feeding of the sheet 46 onto the platen it should be understood that the grippers do not clamp the sheet until it is fully or completely alinedL- In other words, according to our invention we prefer to delay'slightlythe moment of operation of the'gripper.

In order to assist in directing the sheet 46 onto the platen we prefer to provide a pluralityof guides 54 (see Fig.2) the upper extremities of which extend up to a point nearly between the rollers 47 and 48.

As will be seen, face 45 of finger 44 and guides 54 form the upper bonds of a throat through which the sheet is fed, the continuity of the throat being broken by the feed rollers 47 and 48. Beyond the roller 47 the bottom of the throat is formed by the sur-. face of the platen, the arrangement providing an enlargement to the throat in prox-' imity to roller 47, this throat enlargement taking care of any sheet crowding action which may occur through the action of the feeding mechanism, compensation for the excess feed being provided by the curving of the sheet as indicated at 46 As-will be seen, this curved portion is in a direction which tends to lay the sheet on to the platen so that the sheet will not be damaged in any manner by the presence of such excess at this point, the throat beneath guides 54 being open to the platen.

When the sheet 46' is fedv between the rollers 47 and 48 these rollers are preferably.

held slightly separated. For this purpose we preferto support the feed roller 48 on a pair of arms 55 which project out from a rock shaft 56 (see Fig. 3), and this rock shaft 56 is rocked at the proper moment and in the proper direction by means of a cam 57 (see Fig. 1) on the form roller. On the edge of this cam 57, a roller 58 runs, said roller being carried by an adjustable arm 59 attached to the end of the rock shaft (seeFig. 3). By rotating the adjusting screw 60 the effective length of this arm may be altered so as to regulate the amount of movement and position of the axis of the roller 48. In order to adjust the position of this cam 57 we prefer to provide the same with circumferential adjusting slots 61, through which clamping bolts 62 pass. A spring 59 connected at 59 with the shaft 56 holds the arm 59 down on the cam 57. This mechanism provides adjustable control of the time when roller 48- is made active and inactive as well as controlling the length of time the said roller remains active.

The segregating fingers 44 may be adjusted nicely with respect to the face of the picker roller '39 through'the medium of adjusting screws 63, the heads of which are received in slots 64 near the back ends of the fingers, and after adjusting the fingers to the proper position they may be securely clamped by means of wing nuts 65 passing downward through a crossbar or bolster 66 (see Figs;2 and 3).

lVhen the feed table 26 comes forwardly the forward edge of the pack or pile of sheets on the table slides along on the upper face of the finger 44, and in order to keep the upper sheets from sliding ofi the pile we prefer to provide a keeper plate 67 mounted to rock on a cross-shaft 68 and constantly pulled toward the pile of sheets by a suitable spring 69.

Where the press is being used simply for printing upon a single sheet a single picker finger 44 is provided, but where the press is to be adapted for printing upon a plurality of relatively narrow sheets, such as envelop blanks, fed longitudinally to the press, we prefer to provide a plurality of the picker fingers, each finger corresponding to each pile of the blanks. In Fig. 3 the dotted lines 70 indicate the piles of envelop blanks arranged to be fed endwise in the press, the forward corners 71 of the blanks being disposed substantially in alinement with the stops 49 of the alining means. We provide means for holding these blanks in their proper alined position, and for this purpose we prefer to provide a plurality of simple gages 72, each gage comprising an upwardly projectingstem 73 attached to a base or foot 74, adjustably secured by screws 75 passing through a slot 76 into the feed table 26. These stems 7 3 are located at notched points in the envelop blanks.

The face of the platen is preferably provided with a blanket 77 (see Figs. 2 and 6), and the rear side of the platen is preferably cut away so as to form a deep pocket 78'. At one side of this pocket the platen is formed with a substantially radial face 79, at which point we prefer to provide holding means for holding the blanket 77 on the platen. This blanket is preferably formed of two layers or sheets of heavy paper. In order to hold the blanket we prefer to provide the face 79 with a groove 80 which extends longitudinally of the platen, and this groove is preferably of tapered-in cross-section, that is, it is preferably narrower at its bottom. The edge of the blanket extends across this groove, and in order to clamp the blanket in the groove we prefer to provide a clamping bar 81, which is also preferably'of tapered cross-section to conform to the shape of the channel or groove. 80.- In order to hold thisclamping bar on the platen we prefer to provide the ends or heads 82 of the platen with sockets 83 (Fig. 8), and on the ends of the bar we prefer to'provide movable members or sliding bolt-s 84, having pintles 85, to engage in the sockets. These bolts 84 are preferably formed with slots '86, through which the screws 87, which hold them, pass and permit longitudinal movement. In attaching the clamping bar. 8l to the platen it is simply shoved down into thechannel or groove 80-, and the pintles 85 are then shoved, out into the sockets 88. The sheets which form theblanket are preferably held in ten-.

gular necks 93, which enable the sheets of.

the blanketto be tightened up by means of an ordinary Wrench. I

It is desirable, in case the blanket sheets have tobe removed, that they can be replaced in the same position which they had onthe platen beforethey' were removed. In order to accomplish this we preferto provide means for marking orfp'ierc'ing the blankets when they are clamped by the clamp bar 81. For this purpose we prefer to provide at the bottom ofthe channel 80 a plurality of dowel pins 96L, said pins having conical points which passup into openlugs 95 formed n the bar. W hen the sheets of the blanket are applied these pins perfo rate theedges of the blanket and the perforations serveas marks to'indicate how the blanket should be alined when replacingit onthe platen. v

' In presses of this kind it is desirable to arrange the mechanism in such a way that if a sheetfails to feed to the press the platen will not apply itself to the face of the fonncylinder. For this purpose it is desirable to provide automatic means to separate the form cylinder and the platen upon the failure of the sheet to feed to the press. footing the separation of the "cylinders in this manner is controlled, in the present instance, through the medium of the grippers The throw-out mechanism for ef-' the frame, and the pivot 100 of thetoggle links is connected by a link 101 withfan arm 102. The arm l02'is controlled by a rock shaft 103 actuated through 1 the medium ofabell crank lever 104. This bell'crank lever 104 is controlled by electro-magnetic means. 105 (see Fig. 5). The arrangement for this purpose consists 'simplyin providinga continuously moving part, such as a cam, and theclosing of the electric circuit causes this cam to-operate the bell crank lever 104. and. .pull down onthe link 1 which operates thetoggle links 98. For this purpose, referring particularlyto Figsl 1 and5, We provide a cam 106 which is driven continuously in any suitable manner, and beyond this cam a reduced neck 107 is formed which guides a bar 108 through the medium of a slot 109. On the side ofthe bar 108 is an electromagn'et 110, and when this magnet is energized it attracts its core-111, which pulls inwardly a roller 112 and brings the roller into alinement with the cam 106-. The outerend ofthe'core is connected by a laterally project-' ing plate 113, with a collar 114:, on the roller 112. A'spring "115 returns the plate and carries the roller out of the path of the cam when the circuit is o'pen.'= The driv ing of the cam may beeffe'cted by means of apinion 115 meshing. with a gear whe l 116, to which-the cam is rigidly attached.

The circuit which is partly indicated by the dotted line or conductor,1'17 is made: through the grippers and conducting plates, with which the grippers will contact if the. sheet has not been fed to the press.

Neshall now" describe the conducting plates for cooperating with the gripper, and the arrangement for insulating them and for making the circuit to them. as the press rotates. Referring particularly to. Figs. 4:, 6 and '7, at points on the clamping bar 81 already described we provide conducting members or contact plates 118,, which are arranged respectively opposite to their cor responding grippers and in such a way that if an envelop blank 119 has been fed prop erly to the press the edgev of the blank comes between the gripper and thecontact plate and prevents contact between these parts; The contact plates 118 are insulated from the frame of the machine and thecurrent is conducted to them from a suitable source of current, such as a battery 120. In order to insulate the bar 81 from the platen the aforesaid pins 9 1 shouldbe mounted in insulating bushings 121. Furthermore the sockets 83' referred to above should be mounted in insulating bushings 122 (see Fig. 8). The current passes from the sock-" ets 83 and through the bolts 84 and along the bar to the contact plates. Throughout its length the bar is insulated from the platen by the bracket 77 In order to maintain a circuit through the contact plates and grippers at the proper time we prefer to provide a contact device 123 (see Fig. 4), preferably consisting of an insulating contact pin 124 pressed by a spring 125 toward the head of the platen. When the platen is in .the proper position the end of this pin is in contact with a segmental contact plate 126, which is insulated from the head 82 of the platen and connected metallically by a screw 127 with the bushing 83. It should be understood that this contact plate 126 only extendsfor a short distance circumferentially so that the circuit is always broken excepting during the period when the sheet is to be held between the grippers. The current is carried to the contact pin 124 by the aforesaid conductor 117. In order to complete the circuit the conductor 128, which passes from the electromagnet, is grounded by attaching the same to the frame, as indicated at the point 129. On account of the fact that the grip pers are carried on the frame and uninsulated, it will be seen that the circuit is made complete.

We shall now describe the grippers and the means for operating the same. Referring particularly to Figs. 4 and 6, the grippers 50 are preferablyall mounted upon a gripper shaft 130, which extends longitudinally of the platen in the pocket 78 and is rotatable on its axis.

Shaft 130 has its movements controlled by a cam 134 with which aroller 135, mounted on an arm 136 secured to the shaft,

- contacts. To normally maintain contact of roller 135 and cam 134 we preferably employ a yieldable pressure device, shown in the form of a spring 133 mounted on va'pin 132 carried by an arm 131 secured to the shaft, spring 133 resting in a socket formed in the platen. Spring 133 tends to rock the shaft to move the grippers into gripping position. Since the length of movement of the grippers to gripping position may varycontrolled by the presence or absence of the sheetroller 135 may not at all times contact with the cam. Cam 134 is arranged to permit gripping movement of the grippers when the platen has reached a predetermined position (the cam being stationary during the movement of the platen), and to rock the shaft to release the gripping action when the sheet is to be released-at a point where the sheet is just opposite the take-off and the latter is made active to grip the sheet.

In order to regulate the time of movement of the grippers we prefer to attach the cam by means of short circumferential slots 137 (Fig. 6), through which pass bolts 138 which attach the cam to the hearing or box 96 of the platen cylinder. The grippers 5Q relay be of suitable construe .shaft by tightening the bolts.

We shall now describe thealining means or stops 49, and in doingso we refer particularly to Figs. 6 and 9. These stops are.

preferably in the form of short arms which have hubs mounted to slide on a stop shaft 141, which extends. longitudinally of the platen in the pocket 78 and near the clamping bar 81. Although these arms slide freely on the. stop shaft they are preferably non-rotatable thereupon, for which purpose each arm is preferably provided with a feather 142, which runs in a groove or channel 143 extending along the shaft or bar. We prefer touprovide means for clamping the stops simultaueously in position after they have been adjusted to the desired positions. For this purpose we prefer that the shaft 141 should have aslight rotary or rocking movement in its bearing; in the heads 82 of the platen; and prefer ably near one end of the shaft we provide a rigid arm 144 which is engaged by an adjusting screw 145 mounted in a lug 146 projecting in from the head of the platen. By tightening up on this adjusting screw the shaft 141 is slightly rocked or adjusted so that the ends 147 of the stop arms will be clamped against the platen and near the outer surface thereof. Near the. ends 147 the stops have outwardly projecting shoulders 148 which project radially outward be yond the outer surface of the blanket so as to form stops for the sheet 149, indi-,.

cated in Fig. 6. These shoulders 148lie very near the extremities of the grippers. The stop arms 49 preferably are formed with goose necks enabling them to extend across the clamping means from'the shaft 141. Evidently by loosening up the adjusting screw 145 the stops 49 will all become loose so that they can be readily slid along their shaft to any desired point.

We shall now describe the take-off device, but before proceeding to a description of this mechanism we wish to say that in printing elongated sheets, such. as envelop blanks fed longitudinally through the press, considerable difficulty is experienced in constructing a take-off which can operate efiiciently for the reason that the ends of the envelop blanks are small and the surface thereof is largely taken up by the grippers. On small envelops the grippers substantially cover the ends of the blanks so that little or no area remains to which an ordinary mechan1- cal take-off couldbe applied. In, order to meet this difficulty we "provide a pneumatic tsliiewfi? device or tassel-1? frame, the pres.

ferred form of 'which we shall now describe,

referring particularly to Figs. 2 and to 13.

This take-01f device 18 already referred to preferably comprises a skeleton frame consisting' ofa plurality of segments 150 wh1ch are arrangedito he slid along on the takeoff shaft 151, and adapted to be clamped to theshaft in any desired positionby a set screw 152 carried by each segment. 10

These segments are of the usual arcuate form so that their outer edges 153, as the take-off ro tatesfpass adj acent to the blanket 77 on the platen, the direction of rotation "being insegment.

' between the segment and the platen a partial vacuum is developed in the duct 155, and this partial vacuum is maintained until the printed sheet is delivered from the press. I In orderto effect the pneumatic connection to the different segments in any of their different adjusted positions We prefer to providea pneumatic pipe or duct 156, which extends longitudinally of the take-off frame and this ipe operatesas a main to withdraw the air mm the different segments. For this purpose the different segments are connected by flexible connections 157 preferably formed of suitablefiexible hose. In order to enable anyof the segments to be put out of use where not desired we prefer to provide each segment with a rotatable stop cock 158, which is provided with a suitable lever 159. This lever 159 is slightly resilient and is provided at its end with a head, -160 adapted to be received in either one of two sockets 161 and 162. When the lever is in the position shown in Fig. 10 the stop cock is "open and the connection is made to the suction month 156. VVhen the head 161 is in the socket 162 the air connection is cut off and this particular segment will be inoperative.

ReferringtoFig. 2, we shall now describe the preferred arrangement for maintaining a pneumatic connection with the take-off as it rotates. For this purpose we prefer to provide one end of the take-oft sh'aft151 witha bore 163 (see Fig. 12'), and we permit the end of the shaft to extend, beyond the box 96 so as to form a nipple, over which we attach a swivel cap 164. The shaft rotates freely in this cap and the cap is adjustably I wolamped in position on the box 96. At a point in its wall the cap isprovided with a short tube 165, to which we attach a hose 166, which leads to any suitable pneumatic sheet 169 (see Fig. 2) will come against a stop device 170 which projects up adjacent to the segments. The sheet 169 then grav1- tates down onto the pile 1710f printed sheets, which is supported upon an inclined receiving table 172, the said table being provided with movable gages or stops 173 for holding the printed sheets in a pack. Referring again to Fig. 12-,0ne end of the main or pipe-156 is connected by a flexible hose 17 4 with the aforesaid bore 163, so that when the partial vacuum is developed its effect is felt in all of the take-off segments which are connected, with the main 156. f

The pneumatic hose 166 is preferably coir nected with a suitable pneumatic device or air pump 175 (see Fig. 1). may be of any suitable constructions In the present instance it is illustrated-as comprising a barrel 176 in which a piston 177 is reciprocated by means of a connecting rod 178 connected with a gear 179 rotated by another gear 180 associated with the gear wheel 116.

A pneumatic connection somewhat similar to that just described is employed for efifecting a pneumatic connection to the picker roller 39 described above. This is illustrated in Fig. 1, where it will be seen that a hose 181 extends up from the pneumatic pump 17 5 and connects with a suitable cap This air pump 182 which is on the end of the picker roller.

When the opening 183 in theqpicker roller comes opposite to the connection with the hose 181 a partial vacuum is developed, and this partial vacuum is released when the opening 183 arrives opposite the opening 18% in the cap. 0

The circuit through the conductor 117 and through the grippers may be opened when desired by means of a-suitable switch 185 which may bea'rr'anged as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 1. 1

Itshould be understood that the picker all carried on the feed frame, as also are the roller 39- and the feed rollers 47 and 48 are 7 guides 54:, so that when this frame is swung up to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the upper sides of the platen and the take-off devices are exposed. When the feed frame 2-2 is down in its normal position, as indicated in Fig. 1, the pinion 51 interme'shes with the gear 52 and'imparts rotation to the pinion 53 which drives the feed roller 47. p

The bell crank lever 104 is preferably provided with a hand lever 186 which enables the throw-out mechanism to be operated by hand when desired. This hand lever 186 may be provided with a hook 187 having a bill 188 which normally rests against a pin 189 on the main frame. In the automatic operation of the throw-out mechanism the hook 187 will not descend far enough to enable the bill 188 to pass under the pin 189. Hence this book will not interfere in any way with the regular operation of the press. If desired, however, the hand lever 186 may be depressed by hand a sufficient amount to enable the hook to engage the pin 189, whereupon the hook will hold the platen separated from the form cylinder. A suitable spring 190 is provided, the function of which is normally to hold the platen against the form cylinder. This spring is most conveniently attached to the lever 186.

Referring again to the means for holding the envelop blanks on the feed table, we prefer to provide side gages or guides 191, which are in the form of vertical plates and which have slots 192 enabling them to be adjusted inwardly and outwardly from the side edges of the table. In addition to this we prefer to provide also intermediate gage plates 193 mounted on. suitable bases or brackets 191.

The form cylinder has a gear 16 which drives the gear 52 to drive the platen; and the take-off 18 is driven by its gear 18* from the gear 52.

As shown in Fig. 3, the sheets are fed from predetermined positions on the table, these positions being determined by suitable guides at the rear of the sheets, thus providing for a rear guide operation. This permits the feeding operation to be practically continuous from the start of the table-advancing movement until the sheet is released from feeding action by the movement of roller 18 away from sheet-advancing position, there being no front guide or obstruction against sheet advancement excepting that provided by the alining tops 49 on the platen. The continuous feed movement of the sheet is an advantage. This eliminates the preliminary front guide mechanism against which the sheet may be alined preliminary to its advancing, an arrangement which may tend to provide accurate feeding to the platen stops. However, the present construction obtains the desired result by shifting the alining control from a stationary stop structure such as is provided by the usual front guide, to the stop guides of the movable platen, inaccuracy in feed being taken care of by the ability to accommodate for excess material without liability of dam aging the material, and at the time placing the excess in the most convenient pos'ition for passing it to its position 011 the platen. This ability to accommodate for the excess permits the feed of the sheet at an increased speed, a result which is aided by the lent number of single files in which the blanks are fed in regular sequence.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention set forth herein is only one of the many embodiments or forms the invention may take, and we do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention nor in our claims to the particular embodiment set forth.

l/Vhat we claim is 1. In a printing press and in combination, a support for a plurality of sheets in pile formation, a movable platen having alining means for engaging the sheet fed into the press, means for feeding a sheet to be printed from pile-formation position against said alining means by a continuous movement, said means including mechanism moving at a higher speed than the platen is moving and operating to advance the sheet on the platen after the most advanced edge of said sheet engages said alining means,

whereby the continued advancing movement of the sheet will bring the forward edge thereof into complete alinement with said alining means.

2. In a printing press and in combination, a support for a plurality of sheets in pile formation, a platen having alining means for engaging a sheet fed into the press, guiding means for directing the sheet against the platen, and means for feeding a sheet from pile formation position to -position on the platen by a continuous movement, said means being operative to feed the sheet downwardly onto the platen and including mechanism operative to move the sheet on to the platen and against said alin-; ing means in the same direction that the platen is moving and at a higher speed than the .platen .to insure alinement of the forward edge of the sheet with the alining means.

3. In a printing press and in combination, a support for a plurality of sheets in pile formation, a rotary platen cylinder having alining stops for lgaging a sheet fed into the press, means for feeding sheet from.

pile formation position to position on the platen by a continuous movement, said means including a feed roller for feeding the sheet onto the platen against a stop at a higher speed than the peripheral speed of the platen, whereby the most advanced part of the sheet is arrested by the alining means 7 and the sheet bent down upon the platen, V the further feeding movement of said means operating to exert a forward thrust to the sheet on the platen face for effecting aline- :ment ofthe forward edge thereof with the aliningv means, and grippers for engaging the forward edge of the sheet after it is alined.

4. In a printing press, in combination, a

platen, ablanket and means for positioning it on the platen, a plurality of stops and normally held from movement, means for guiding said stops to enable the same to be shifted along said platen, and means inde pendent of the .blanket-posi'tioning means for locking said stops in position simultaneously.

5; In a printing press, in combination, a platen, a blanket and means for positioning it on the platen, a plurality ofv stops and the envelop blanks with their corners projecting toward the platen and disposed respectively opposite to said stops, means for feeding the blanks onto said platen and with the forward corners thereof against said stops respectively, and grippers adjacent to said stops for holding the corners of the blanks on the platen.

7. In a printing press, in combinatioma platen, a blanket and means for positioning it on the platen, a bar extending longitudinally thereof, a plurality of stops non-rotatably mounted on said bar but arranged to slide longitudinally thereupon and normally held from movement, and means independent of the blanket-positioning means for adjusting said bar about an axis to clamp said stops simultaneously against said (platen and thereby hold the same against longitudinal movement along the platen.

8. In a printing press, in combination, a platen, a bar extending longitudinally thereof, a plurality of stops having a feather and groove connection with said bar and slidable longitudinally on said bar to enable the ad platen to hold the same again-st movement mechanism and in combination, a support for a plurality of sheets in pile formatlon, a rotary platen carrying gripping and sheet-alining stop mechanisms, and means for feedinga sheet from pile formation position into contact with the stop mechanism by a continuous movement and'during travel of the platen, said means including a throat extending above .and open to the platen, sheet-feeding means intermediate the endsof the throat and adapted to feed the sheet at a speed higher than the surface speed of the platen,-

means for delivering the sheet into the throat in advance of the feeding means, and means V with the stop mechanism by a continuous.

movement and during travel of the platen,

said means including a throat extending above and open to the platen,-sheet-feeding means intermediate the ends of the throat and adapted to feed the sheet at a speed higher than thesurface speed of the platen, means for delivering the. sheet into-the throat in advance ofthe feeding means, and means for rendering said sheet-feeding ,means active to position the sheet in proper contact with the stop mechanism in advance of gripping mechanism activity, said throat hav-' ing a configuration adapted to permit buckling of the sheet between the feeding means and the alining mechanism during the alin surface speed of the platen, said platen hav-1 ing its axis on aplane interposed between and parallel to planes corresponding to the prmtmg pos1t1onand a feed roll axis.

12. In a high speed printing mechanism and in combination, a support for a plurality of sheets in pile formation, a printing couple including a rotary platen carrying gripping and sheet alining stop mechanisms adapted to control the sheet position on the platen and grip the sheet in such position tocarry it past the printing position, a sheet feeding mechanism adapted to feed the sheet from pile formation position into contact with the platen and to alining contact with said stop mechanism by a continuous move ment, said feeding mechanism including feed rolls operable to feed the sheet at a speed higher than the surface speed of the platen, said rolls and platen being relatively positioned to provide a space beyond the rolls zftdztlpted to accommodate for excess sheet 13. In high speed printing mechanism and in combination, a support for a plurality of sheets in pile formation, a printing couple including a rotary platen carrying gripping and sheet alining stop mechanisms adapted to control the sheet position on the platen and grip the sheet in such position to carry it past the printing position, a sheet feeding mechanism adapted to feed the sheet from pile formation position into contact with the platen and to alining contact with said stop mechanism by a continuous movement, said feeding mechanism including feed rolls operable to feed the sheet at a speed higher,

than the surface speed of the platen, said rolls and platen being relatively positioned to provide a space beyond the rolls adapted to accommodate for excess sheet feed, said space being open to the platen to permit such A excess to move toward the platen surface.

14. In high speed printing mechanism adapted to print envelops, etc., in sheet form, and in combination, a support for a plurality of sheets in pile formation, a printing couple including a rotary platen carrying gripping and sheet alining stop mechanisms adjustable in the direction of length of the platen, and means for feeding the individual sheets to and removing them from the platen during platen rotation, said means including sheet feeding mechanism adapted to feed the sheet from pile formation position into contact with the alining mechanism bya continuous movement and in advance of the beginning of gripping mech anism activity, and pneumatic means operative on the sheet at the close of ripping mechanism activity for removing t e sheet from the platen, whereby the sheets may be printed in a single file or a plurality of files.

15. In high speed mechanism adapted adapted to print envelops, etc., in sheet form, and in combination, a printing couple including a rotary platen carrying gripping and sheet alining stop mechanisms, and

means for feeding the individual envelop sheets to and removingthem from the platen during platen rotation with one of the rela'-' tively narrow ends of the sheet forming the gripping end, said means including sheet feeding means adapted to position the sheets in contact with the alining stop mechanism in advance of gripping mechanism activity, and pneumatic means operative on the sheet at the close of. the gripping mechanism actlvity.

16. 'In high speed printing mechanism adapted to print envelops, etc., in sheet form, and in combination, a printing couple including a rotary platen carrying gripping and sheet alining stop mechanisms, an means for feeding the individual envelop sheets to and removing them'from the platen during platen rotation with one of the r latively narrow ends of the sheet forming the gripping end, said means including sheet feeding means adapted to position the sheets in contact with the alining stop mechanism in advance of gripping mechanism activity, and pneumatic means operative on the sheet at the close of the gripping mechanism activity, said pneumatic means including adjustable elements positionable in substantial alinement with the gripping mechanism, whereby the printing mechanism is operable to print the sheets in single or multiple file succession.

17. In high speed printing mechanism adapted to print envelops, etc., and in combination, a printing couple including a rotary platen carrying gripping and sheet alining mechanisms, and means for feeding the individual sheets to and removing them from the platen during platen rotation, said means including sheet feeding mechanism adapted to feed the sheets into positioned contact with the alining mechanism in advance of the beginning of gripping mechanism. activity, and pneumatic means for removing the sheet from the platen, whereby sheets having relatively narrow grip-engag ing ends may be individually presented to the gripping mechanism in proper alined position, maintained in such position by the gripping mechanism during printing, and

nis'm'activity for removing the sheet from the platen, said elements being constructed andarranged in a manner whereby sheets ha ing-relatively narrow grip-engaging ends may be individually presented to the gripplngmechanism in proper ahned posltion,

10 maintained in such vposition by the grip pingwn'iechanisin during printing, and delivered from such mechanism after printing.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses. 1 I

JAMES D. REIFSNYDER. HENRY G. SCHVERDTLE. Witnesses: l

CARL E. -SGHAEFFER, SILAS E. CHILD.

Copies of this pat'enfmay be obtainedfor five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G. 

